Merciless Beauty or: The Ninja Warrior of Atlanta
by Mrs. Smith
Summary: An unfinished story I began some time back: Scarlett's search for Rhett leads her to Japan, where she becomes intrigued by the martial arts.
1. Tomorrow is Another Day

CHAPTER ONE: "Tomorrow is another day" 

"I'll think about it tomorrow" had long been Scarlett's philosophy to solving problems. This was one of the few occasions in which tomorrow came and she was, in fact, thinking about it.  
Rhett was gone and Melanie was dead. What to do now?  
Her first thought was to try and track Rhett down. It's only been one night, she thought, how far could he possibly have gone?  
Far enough, she realized sadly, and in countless directions. He may be boarding a ship headed for China this minute, thought Scarlett, not realizing how unlikely it would be for a ship to go from Georgia straight to China. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. She sighed, wondering if she should get it herself or even agree to speak with whoever it was. Before her mind was made up, she could hear Prissy answer the door.   
"Miss Scarlett," Prissy shouted from across the house, "It's Mister Ashley here to see you!"  
Ashley! Scarlett wasn't sure whether to kiss him or kill him. In her mind, he was partly responsible for her problems with Rhett. But, she decided, poor Ashley has been through enough this week. If it was going to be absolutely necessary for her to blow up at him, it could wait a couple more days. And perhaps, Scarlett prayed, things would change by then.

Of course Prissy, useless girl she was, hadn't invited Ashley in. For once, Scarlett was thankful. He was still standing in the doorway when she approached him.   
"Ashley. I greet you."   
Ashley started at her for a moment after hearing her unusual welcome. "How medieval," he said. "I just came to tell you, Scarlett, that the funeral will be tomorrow."  
"Thank you, Ashley, I'll certainly be there."  
There was a moments pause as Scarlett fought with politeness, but finally gave in to it.  
"Where are my manners. Please come in. Can I get you anything? Coffee?"  
"Thank you, Scarlett. I haven't had a good coffee in years. That would be wonderful, certainly."  
Scarlett groaned quietly at his accepting the invitation, and then led him into the dining room.

The coffee seemed to cheer Ashley up some. Scarlett thought she almost saw him smile. They talked for a while about the weather, the quality of their coffee and other such topics I will not bore you with here. Finally, Ashley asked, "Is your husband around?"  
Scarlett nearly choked on her coffee. She had to think fast-should she tell him?  
"Ah, Rhetthe was just so upset by Melanie's death. Hedoesn't like people to know how emotional he can be. He thinks it makes him look unmanly. He's out of town for a while. Until he calms down a bit."  
"I see," said Ashley. Scarlett thought she could hear him whisper Melanie's name to himself. He looked for a second like he might start crying, but then he suddenly looked up at her. "Scarlett?"  
"Yes?"  
"Please make sure I go to her funeral tomorrow? No matter what I say, no matter what I do, no matter what's happening, please. I'm not sure if I'll be able to force myself to make it on my own."  
"Of course, Ashley."  
"Also, Scarlettsince it's just me now, watching over little Beau, would you promise, should anything ever happen to me, to take care of him?"  
"Don't think such things, Ashley! I'm sure that Beau will be old enough to care for himself when your time comes. You'll be an old man by then."  
"Right. I have another, what, forty years left? Another forty years left to be without my Melanie. Another forty, miserable-"  
"Uh, Ashley?  
"What?"  
"Perhaps you should go home. You sound like you might need some rest."  
Ashley finished off his coffee. "You're right. Alright. Okay. Okay, thenI shall see you tomorrow."

It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day. No day to be holding a funeral. Especially not Melanie's.   
Ashley had managed to get to the funeral on his own, and Scarlett was thankful for that. She didn't want to make any more contact with him at this time than was absolutely necessary. She did her best to blink back tears, happy that at least her veil would hide any that she let slip out.  
Ashley looked awful-tired, pale, and very much like he was going to be ill. Still, he also did his best to stand there quietly and with as much dignity as he possibly could, next to his son.

It was about halfway through the funeral that something went wrong.

Ashley suddenly moaned loudly and collapsed. Thinking at first it was merely from stress, a few friends of his made an attempt to comfort him and help him up. After a few seconds of this, one of them suddenly shouted:  
"Good god! He's dead!"  
There was a gasp from the crowd, and several went over to check on him. The preacher stopped reading and went to look as well. Scarlett stood, mouth open, completely shocked. It hadn't occurred to her yesterday that Ashley's words might have been a warning. But now it was clear. He had been planning this.  
Scarlett, remembering her promise, took Beau aside from the commotion.

Four days later Scarlett was attending Ashley's funeral. Little Beau stood next to her, sobbing. Both his mother and father were gone now, one already buried, the other lying in the next grave over, about to be.  
After some investigation, it was reported that Ashley had taken just enough arsenic to kill himself with, shortly after his breakfast. Having eaten beforehand, it slowed the poison from making it through his system until he was at the funeral. He had probably asked Scarlett to help him get there in case the poison acted more quickly than he'd planned.   
Beau was now staying in Bonnie's old room. It was the only spare room in the house set up for a child. Wade and Ella were quite happy to have a new playmate on hand at all times.   
Scarlett, however, was not happy. This was seriously deducting from her time to figure out what to do about Rhett, not to mention leaving her terribly stressed. She was very grateful for the servants, for she didn't know how she'd ever be able to handle housework on her own at a time like this.  
Taking in Beau had helped her popularity, though. It was amazing how easily public opinion of her could shift, she thought. People would stop her on the street to tell her how sweet she was for taking in "that poor little Wilkes child."  
  
After putting the children to bed, Scarlett began working on the Rhett problem. First off, where would he most likely go?  
"Probably as far away from me as he can," she mumbled to herself. Where was the furthest he could go? She got up, for she was certain she had a map of the world around someplace. It took a bit of digging through dusty old books, which she had no clue as to why she even owned them, but she found it. That would take him to somewhere around India.  



	2. Shanghai Surprise

CHAPTER TWO: "Shanghai Surprise" 

Scarlett's sudden decision to go to India surprised everyone. Her excuse was that with the stress from Ashley and Melanie's deaths, and now having to look after their son, it was all a bit too much to handle at once and she really needed some time alone to recover from the shock of it. As far as she could tell, everyone bought the story.   
After a brief and rather uninteresting visit with her sister, Suellen, whom she left the three children with, Scarlett boarded a train to take her out west. After a week and a half, Scarlett arrived in San Francisco, where she would be staying for a few days waiting for her ship to come in, which would to take her to Shanghai. From there she would travel over 2000 miles to Calcutta.  
At least, that was her plan.  
Scarlett had been told she would be staying in the best hotel in San Francisco. That wasn't saying much, she discovered. The only redeeming quality of the hotel was the large outdoor garden in the back. It had tables set out for people to dine at, since the owner knew perfectly well it was the best feature there. She awoke on her second day at the hotel, got dressed (with some difficulty-she was determined to not let anyone know what she was trying to do, and hadn't brought any servants to help her. Tightening a corset to sixteen inches, she found, was no easy task without help) and went downstairs to have her breakfast in the garden. As she waited for her food to be brought to her, she struck up a conversation with a couple sitting nearby. They were older than Scarlett, the woman being at least in her 40s and the man in his 50s. Scarlett guessed they were British by their accents.   
"What a charming accent you have," said the woman.  
"Yours as well," said Scarlett.  
The woman giggled. "Strange how you can forget things, like that your manner of speaking can be considered an accent outside of your native area. In that topic, where are you from?"  
"Well," answered Scarlett, "I've been living Georgia my whole life. This is actually the first time I've been away, save for my honeymoon."  
"Isn't that delightful! I don't believe we've been to Georgia, have we, Leofric?"  
"Well, I think there was a war going on there until recently," he replied.  
"It must be awful living in a new country like this. Wars all the time and all."  
"Actually," said Scarlett, "I don't recall any wars until the one a few years ago."  
"Dear, there've been three in less than one hundred years. Not a good sign," said the woman.  
"Figured we should see the country before it disappears," said the man, apparently called Leofric.  
"I think everyone should get out and see someplace else at least once in their lives. We're actually on our way to Shanghai," said the woman.  
"Really? Well, so am I! On my way to Calcutta, that is. Why, we're probably waiting for the same boat!"  
"Is that a fact? We'll probably be seeing a lot more of each other for the next few days, then. I am Elsbeth, and this is my husband, Leofric."  
"A pleasure, my dear," said Leofric, taking her hand and quickly kissing it.   
She giggled nervously at that European custom. "My name's Scarlett," she replied, smiling.  
"You mentioned you're married," said Elsbeth, "Why is it, then, that you're here all alone?"  
"Oh well, my husband has been away for a while. I'm actually on my way to meet him."  
"In India?"  
"Yes."  
"How interesting! What is he doing in India?"  
"Umm he, ah well, a friend of ours died."  
"Oh, I am dreadfully sorry to hear that!"  
"Me too," said Scarlett. "Anyway I was unable to make the trip at that time. I had to make arrangements for the children and all. But I felt I should at least try to say a final goodbye to him, so I told Rhett that I would be there as soon as possible, and we could return home together."  
Scarlett was becoming very good at lying.

Scarlett spent her last two days in San Francisco talking with the Mercers, as they were called. She discovered they were trying to travel to everyplace in the world that they could, and having completed most of Europe the two of them had gone to America, and from there they were planning to tour Asia.  
Scarlett continued to spend time with them on the ship, but when alone, she tried to plan out how she would win Rhett back.  
After three days on the ship, it finally occurred to her that he might not even be in India.  
Upon that revelation, Scarlett decided on this-she would spend one week in Calcutta, and then go to Bombay and spend one week there. If Rhett didn't turn up in either of those places, she'd give up and go home. The complete illogic of going to India and assuming that Rhett would be there without any deeper thought into it was just starting to hit her. She felt so stupid she sometimes felt she might cry if she thought about it. So she went to her old standby: "I'll think about it tomorrow."  
Scarlett, however, never made it to Shanghai. A day before they were due to arrive, a very bad storm came. She was on deck with the Mercers when it started.  
"My, what awful weather we're having," exclaimed Elsbeth. "I hope this won't delay our ship too much."   
Lightning cracked, and soon rain started pouring down. Scarlett, Elsbeth and Leofric all hurried back inside to their cabin, where they continued to talk. They sometimes had to shout over the wind and the rain that could be heard outside, as well as the thunder. The ship began to rock back and forth. One of their lamps rolled off the table and nearly caught the bed on fire, but Leofric was quick to put it out. After relighting the lamp, they tried to continue their conversation---until the warning bells started ringing. Crewmembers started knocking on every door. They were told a fire had started below deck, and to be prepared to abandon the ship if it wasn't extinguished soon.  
As you may guess, the fire was not put out, and they did have to abandon ship.  
Scarlett, Elsbeth, Leofric, and three other people got into a lifeboat together, and were lowered overboard to float aimlessly into the night, till they could either make it to land or be saved by another ship.

Shortly before noon the next day, land was in sight. Scarlett, who was getting quite sunburned and was very eager to get inside as quickly as possible, picked up one of the oars and began to row towards the shore. Several of the other lifeboats were already ahead of her. She did well for all of fifteen minutes, then grew too tired to continue. One of the men in the boat offered to take over for her. Just over an hour later, they arrived on the shore of Nagasaki, Japan.  



	3. The Scottish Samurai and Madame Butterfl...

CHAPTER THREE: "The Scottish Samurai and Madame Butterfly" 

Thanks to the current, all of the ships lifeboats ended up around Nagasaki. When their captain, Renard Westing, an older man, about the same age as Leofric Mercer, arrived on the shore, he waited till all the lifeboats had made it, and after collecting all the passengers, assured them that he would get them to Shanghai. He passed out a small amount of money to each of the passengers, enough to buy food, he told them, and then asked them to all meet back at the same place around sundown, promising to have lodging arranged for everyone.

"The gods simply wished us to see Japan," said Elsbeth. She turned to Scarlett, "Leofric and I had been thinking about touring Japan, but decided against it. But it seems that it was meant to be."  
"I do hope this won't delay your meeting your husband, Scarlett," said Leofric.  
"Oh, right. I suppose I ought to send word to him. I'll do that tomorrow"  
"It's really too bad," said Elsbeth, "that we don't have a bit more money with us. I fear it all went down with the ship."  
"Not all of it, darling," answered Leofric, "I have" he began to dig through his pocket, counting out a few soaked dollar bills and coins, "Three dollars and forty cents, American."  
Scarlett thought a moment. "Wait I have some gold coins with me."  
"That's wonderful! Perhaps we can experience a bit of the local culture."  
"All rightis there somewhere private I could go for a little while?"  
"Not that I'm aware of," said Elsbeth.   
"There's something I hadn't thought of," said Leofric. "Where to find a Japanese washroom..."  
"Leofric! I do wish you'd try to be less vulgar!"  
"Sorry, my dear."

The quest for a Japanese washroom went on for nearly an hour and a half. Scarlett finally gave up and, upon finding a nice, out of the way cluster of trees, called Elsbeth to come with her and Leofric to wait where he was.

"How clever!" Elsbeth exclaimed as she helped Scarlett remove gold coins from the lining of her corset. "How did you ever think of such a thing?"  
"I've no idea. But I think we have enough to last us a few days. Now help me get this back on."  
Elsbeth helped Scarlett re-tighten her stays. However, it was already getting late by this time, and despite having not eaten, they had to make their way back to the harbor so that Captain Westing could assign them their rooms.

They had been expecting slightly better accommodations than what they found. Even the first class passengers were given very tiny rooms, with almost no furniture, and Scarlett was convinced the walls were made out of paper.   
Scarlett had no change of clothes now, nor any toiletries. When she awoke the next morning with a painful sunburn on her face, she knew she must look frightful. She did her best to comb her hair out with her fingers, and rub out the dirt and water stains on her dress (how had she missed those?). She then did her best to tie her hair into a bun, not having a mirror in the room. After that, she went to visit the Mercers.

After a small and unusual breakfast consisting of a strange green-colored tea and what appeared to be seaweed, Scarlett and the Mercers continued to tour the city.  
"We're very lucky that out of all the cities in Japan, we ended up in Nagasaki." Leofric was trying to explain everything he knew about Japan to Scarlett. "There's supposed to be one of the highest European populations in Japan here."  
"Then why haven't I seen any?" asked Scarlett.  
Leofric pondered this for a moment. "Perhaps we're not on the correct side of town."  
"Oh, look!" Elsbeth pointed to merchants selling, among other things, parasols. "That would help me and poor Scarlett to keep our pallor out here."  
The group headed toward the merchant.   
Leofric picked up two parasols and said, loudly and slowly, "We would like two of these."  
The merchant just looked at him. "_Nani_?"  
"Two parasols," repeated Leofric.  
"_Nani_?"  
Leofric continued to practically yell, "We would like to purchase these. How much do they cost?"  
"_Nani_?"  
Leofric handed him one of Scarlett's gold coins. The merchant looked at the strange currency for a moment, then after figuring out that with was gold, smiled and handed him the two parasols, and gave a quick bow.  
Elsbeth and Leofric started to walk away, when they noticed Scarlett still standing in from of him.  
"Scarlett, what are you doing?"  
"Waiting for my change," she replied. "There's no way two paper umbrellas are worth a five dollar gold coin."  
Leofric stepped back up to the merchant. He said, slowly, "Excuse me. We would like our change."  
"_Nani_?"  
After fifteen minutes of this, Leofric gave up, and handed her his own three dollars to compensate.

After an equally difficult attempt to get lunch, in which they were finally served rice and miso soup, paid for with the Japanese currency handed out by Captain Westing, they continued searching the city for something to keep them occupied.   
"If I would have known we'd be coming here, I'd have worked on learning Japanese," said Leofric.

In the course of two days they tried various odd Japanese food items, saw a Noh play, and met a few Europeans who lived in the area, including a wealthy Scot named Thomas Glover who agreed to help them around town while they were waiting for another ship to get to Shanghai. Thomas spoke the native language and was even married to a Japanese girl, who seemed to be called Chochosan. He was very helpful to the three travelers.  
Scarlett was forced to become rather familiar with him quickly, as the day she first met him she started her period. Although this was rarely a subject to bring up with men, and certainly not with one you didn't know remarkably well, all her necessary items to deal with such an event were burned up in the middle of the ocean, and she was forced, blushing hotly, to ask him where to find replacements. Not phased in the least, he called his wife, who did in fact speak some English (though spoke it with a Scottish accent with a Japanese accent, thus rendering it near indecipherable) to help her. Chochosan sympathetically gave her three strange looking T-shaped undergarments to use, explaining that they had to be tied in the front.  
The Glovers were of course helpful in other ways. They showed the visitors a few sites around town, including a tailor's shop where they could all have a few new outfits made, and helped them to communicate with the locals. On the last day they were planning to spend in Nagasaki, Thomas took them to watch a martial arts class. They were demonstrating Kukishinden Ryu-Bo and sword techniques. They were all impressed while watching the class, but no one was more mesmerized than Scarlett. It took some time, but she finally got up the nerve to ask Thomas if it was at all possible for her to try. He spoke with the instructor for a moment, and finally told Scarlett that the man would be fine with it. The Mercers congratulated her as she stepped out onto the floor.  
Thomas translated the teacher's instructions to her. "Keep your chin up, and your arms down"  
Within fifteen minutes Scarlett had been taught how to do a basic block with a Bo (when attacked very slowly, at least.)   
That night she could barely sleep, she was so intrigued by this technique. She practiced the one move that she'd been taught over and over again. She wished she could learn to use a sword, like she had seen some of the other students doing.   
At about 2 AM, she made her decision.

"You don't want to go to Shanghai?" asked Captain Westing.  
"Correct. II was just so scared by that shipwreck, I've been trying to hide it for a few days, hoping I'd get over it, but it doesn't seem to be happening. I just don't think I can stand to go over water again," lied Scarlett.  
"So you're just going to stay here?"  
"Yes. Until I get over it. At that point I think I'll go back home, rather than continue with my trip."   
"And you're certain about this?"  
"Yes."  
"Remember, once we leave, you're on your own and will have to find some other ship to take you where you want to go."  
"I understand. I think I can manage."  
"Alright, then. If you change your mind, though, you'd better do it within the hour."  
"I won't. But thank you."  
With that, they shook hands, and Scarlett walked away.

"Scarlett! What are you doing here? I thought your ship was supposed to leave today," exclaimed Thomas upon Scarlett's arrival at his house.  
"It was and it did. I've decided to stay a while longer."  
"Well, good for you," replied Thomas through his thick Scottish accent, "Happy to be seeing more of you, Scarlett. Do come in."  
Scarlett smiled and stepped into his house. She was happy to be in the slightly more familiar atmosphere of the western-style mansion, though she was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable about her appearance. While she had finally managed to get a new dress and had bought a comb, she was certain her hair still looked a complete mess. Not to mention her face was freckled, burnt, and peeling. Chochosan came out to sit with them, and began to pour tea for her husband and Scarlett. Thomas then filled up Chochosan's cup. He spoke to his wife for a minute in Japanese, then turned to Scarlett.  
"So, what finally convinced you to stay?"  
She hesitated, but figured after that incident a few days back, she could come to him with anything. "It's terribly indecent, I know, but I'm hoping that you might be able to help me. I... I was actually interested in those sword classes. I fear it may not be at all proper for a lady, but, I must admit, I would like to take more. I hope you don't mind my boldness."  
"Scarlett, I'm a Scottish sailor. I'll act like a gentleman when I know it's required, but otherwise I don't give a fuck."  
Scarlett's eyes widened at the use of such a strong word, especially in front of two women. When she managed to regain her ability to speak, she asked "Would it be possible to arrange more lessons for me?"  
Thomas thought for a moment. "I don't see any real reason why not. But while I don't care, they may find it unusual for an American, and an American woman at that, to start participating in their classes."  
"Is there a possibility for private lessons?"  
He paused again. "I think I know just the man for you."  



	4. Shokonetsu

CHAPTER FOUR: "Shokonetsu" 

A month later, Scarlett had learned the beginning basics to five different kinds of martial arts. Thomas had brought her to a man named Tetsuo Sasukeyasu, a friend of his who had helped him with his Gyokko Ryu. He spoke no English, and Scarlett spoke no Japanese, but he still managed to adequately instruct her despite it. He would sometimes try to speak to her, perhaps hoping she'd learn the language. The only thing Scarlett could tell for sure was that he kept calling her "Sukareto."  
Tetsuo's main frustration with not being able to actually speak with her was that he couldn't explain to her things like meditation, philosophy, or the usefulness of certain techniques. All he could currently teach her was what he could show her, either by demonstrating himself or by moving her body for her. Also, he couldn't figure out a way of explaining that he wanted her to take off her corset before class, as it was making it difficult for her to bend certain ways. But, he figured a challenge was always good. And perhaps if he kept talking to her anyway, she might eventually figure out at least some of what he was trying to say.  
"_Sukareto, anata wa katai sugiru futatabi desu_."  
Scarlett just kept standing there, completely unaware of what he'd just said. He came over and made an attempt at bending her forward. He was obviously frustrated. "_Anata wa sore wa mono o nugimasu_."  
She gave no acknowledgement of understanding what he said. He gave up on that for now, and instead focused on adjusting her position as best he could. Once she stood in the correct place, Tetsuo backed up, then came at her, not too quickly, but ran into her with enough force to knock her over.   
"Ooof! What are-" but she gave up trying to talk, it was no good, she knew. The thing she hated most was not having any idea what he was trying to do. The next most hated thing was how Tetsuo, in order to demonstrate what he wanted her to do, would sometimes grab her limbs and move them for her. In this case he took hold of her legs, and pulled them towards himself, trying to imitate a kicking motion. She tolerated it because she knew there was no other way for him to show her what he wanted, but she still didn't like it. It took a few seconds to realize what he was trying to tell her, but she got it and finally pushed him away with her feet. The posture he had formerly adjusted her into caused her to curl up when pushed down, making her legs the easiest available way to throw off an attacker. Tetsuo, once convinced she understood, told her to get up again. She was used to the drill. Once having learned a move with his help, they tested it together a few times. She got back into posture, cursing her stays as the boning dug into her hips, and waited for him to come at her again. She repeated the move successfully, knocking Tetsuo back far enough to give her room to roll away from him and get back up.  
God, she loved these classes.

After two months in Japan, Scarlett was beginning to think she should return home. Not only would people start to wonder if she stayed away from her family much longer, but she was also starting to run low on money. She was also getting sick of alternating between five different dresses day after day. The one thing holding her back was that she did not want to stop her training. Scarlett, while far from being fluent in Japanese, was starting to learn enough words that Tetsuo was beginning to have an easier time teaching her. He had even promised to show her how to "break things" (_mono o kudakimasu_) if she got better. What proper Southern woman wouldn't jump at the chance to break things? Thought, what kind of "things" he spoke of she hadn't been able to figure out. But she was intrigued nonetheless.   
This was a problem to take to Thomas Glover.

"I'm afraid I can't continue to stay here, I have a family and a business to tend to, afterall. But I don't want to stop my Ninjutsu training either," lamented Scarlett. "And even if we assume I could find someone in Atlanta to continue training me, I imagine it would be considered terribly indecent for a woman to be learning such things."  
"That is a problem," said Thomas.   
"I'm really torn. I really, truly love doing it, even more than dancing!"  
"Perhaps," Chochosan-whose real name was Tsura, Scarlett had discovered-interrupted "You could take Sasukeyasusan."  
Scarlett pondered this. "You mean take him to Atlanta."  
"Hai-yes," replied Tsura.  
It wasn't that bad an idea. "Would he be willing to come?"  
"I'll ask him for you, if you'd like," said Thomas.  
"Oh, would you? Tell him I'd be willing to put him up, I'll cover all his expenses, plus pay him for the job he's doing."  
"Of course. I'll go visit him tomorrow."  
"Could you bring me along?" Scarlett asked.  
"Certainly."

Two days later Scarlett was waiting for Tetsuo's answer. When she and Thomas had gone to ask him if he'd be willing to come, he had asked for a few days to think it over. Scarlett couldn't figure out why it was taking him so long to decide. The more she thought about going back to Atlanta, the more anxious she became to get herself there. She missed having proper walls and a soft bed. And a closet filled with clothes. And meat. She hadn't even seen a piece of beef since she arrived in Nagasaki. Her diet for the last couple months had consisted mostly of rice and seaweed, with occasional fish, and lots of strange vegetables. She was fantasizing about eating veal with gravy and potatoes when she heard Thomas outside.  
"Scarlett," he called, "Are you there?"  
"One moment," she went across the room and came out from behind her screen. "Ohayo, Mr. Glover," she said with a smile. She was quite proud of the few Japanese words she knew.  
"Ohayo to you as well. I just heard from our friend Mr. Sasukeyasu."  
"I was just thinking about him. Won't you come in?"  
"No thank you, I'll most likely be coming back to him in a minute with your reply. Ahem. He has said he will come with you to Atlanta only if his wife may come as well."  
Scarlett blinked. "I didn't even know he had a wife."  
"Nor did I. Nevertheless, it seems that he does. Her name is Aoi."  
Scarlett thought for a second. "Do they have any children?" The last thing she needed were more brats running around her house.  
"If they do, he made no mention of them."  
She paused for a moment. "Oh alright, then. They can both come. Tell them to start packing, I'll see about getting us there."  
Thomas nodded. "I'll go tell him, then. Lovely seeing you, Miss Scarlett."  
"You as well. Good day."  
"Konnichiwa," replied Thomas.  
She laughed slightly. "Right, konnichiwa."

A week and a half later Scarlett, Tetsuo and Aoi stood in front of the small ship, handing over their baggage. She had been unable to find a vessel going right from Nagasaki back to America. They instead had to travel on a small boat, more like a ferry, to Shanghai, and switch ships there.  
The first problem Scarlett noticed with the Sasukeyasu's was that the language barrier worsened when they suddenly were forced to talk about things besides fighting technique. And she would no longer have the advantage of Thomas Glover being around to translate for her. They'd have to try and figure this out soon.   
They didn't have rooms on the boat, since they would arrive in Shanghai by that evening. Their bags were packed away and they were lead onto the deck. Scarlett decided to try to teach them a bit of English.  
"We are on a boat," she said, slowly.  
"_Nani_?" was Aoi's reply. Tetsuo mumbled something to her.  
"Booooooaaaaaat." Scarlett could see this wasn't getting a reaction. She tried again. "Ichi boat," she said while pointing to the deck. Now they looked even more confused. Scarlett tried something else. She held out her parasol, practically shoving it in their faces. "Parasol. Can you say parasol?"  
They just continued to stare at her. Aoi finally started to speak. "_Sukareto nekkyo desu ka_?"  
"_Sukareto kore wa itsumo furumau a masen_," replied Tetsuo.  
"_Desu ne_."  
Scarlett frowned. She'd have to try something else. 

Around one o'clock they were each given a bowl of miso for their lunch. Scarlett was used to eating it without a spoon by this time, and hardly found it odd anymore to drink it from the red bowl they'd given her. Then she figured something out. She looked at the red bowl, then her red dress, then at the red flowers painted on her parasol. She approached Tetsuo and Aoi again. This time she pointed to the bowl. "Red," then to her dress, "Red," then to the painted flowers, "Red." She repeated this about three times, looking for anything else red. She spotted the ribbon in Aoi's hair. "Red," she repeated and she lightly touched the ribbon. She kept doing this for nearly a minute. The Sasukeyasu's looked quizzically at her, but then Aoi seemed to get it.   
"Ohhhh _aka_." To test it, Aoi pointed to her red shoes. "Red-o?"  
"Yes! Those are red!"  
Aoi smiled. "Aka."  
Thank goodness, thought Scarlett, she understood that one. After making a point of remembering that red was called aka, she started looking for another color. She pointed to the white chairs and railings. "White."  
"_Shiroi_," answered Aoi.  
They continued to exchange the name of colors. By the time they got to green (midori) Tetsuo had started to participate. He pointed to his purple kimono. "_Murasaki_."  
"Murasaki ah, purple."  
"Papuru," Aoi responded, practicing.  
Scarlett smiled. She found the pronunciations they gave for some words to be hilarious. Truthfully, Aoi and Tetsuo felt the same about her pronunciations of the Japanese words.  
Scarlett pointed to the sky and water. "Blue."  
Aoi giggled. "_Aoi_!"  
Scarlett looked at her. "Your name means blue?" What an unusual name she thought, but then remembered her own daughter had been called Bonnie Blue, and that even scarlet was the name of a color. She then smiled. "Scarlett is aka."  
This seemed to confuse them. Scarlett shook her head. "Nevermind."  
They eventually ran out of colors, and went on to naming objects. By the time their ship had landed, they each knew the words for over 40 items. When they were shown to their rooms in Shanghai, they all clustered together in Scarlett's, continuing the language exchange well into the night. After several hours, Scarlett finally said, trying to use and much Japanese as she could based on what she'd learned that day: "_Anata wa_ should go to _fushido_ now, because we have to get on another _fune_ in the _asa_." She felt quite ridiculous saying that, but thought she'd be best off practicing.  
They seemed to understand, and stood up. Tetsuo said "_Watashi Aoi to wa anata ni ashita o mimasu_," and he and Aoi bowed politely. Scarlett had learned enough of the culture by now to know what was expected, and she also politely bowed. Then the couple retired to their own room.  



	5. Atlanta

CHAPTER FIVE: "Atlanta" 

Keti Sukareto Ohera Hamorutan Kenedi Batura stepped off the train, followed by her two kids as well as Beau Wilkes, and a Japanese couple. That certainly turned some heads. Two carriages were required to accommodate so many people, so Aoi and Tetsuo took one, while Scarlett and the children took the other. The porters packed the huge amount of luggage onto the roof. Scarlett was almost glad that's she'd lost most of her bags when their ship caught fire, as she couldn't see how any more would possibly fit.

Will had brought Wade, Ella and Beau to the train station to wait for their mother. When she introduced them to the oriental couple following her, their jaws almost dropped. And they were even more surprised when she announced that the two would be living with them. On the train to Atlanta Scarlett had explained to the kids how they would have to get used to a few strange customs Aoi and Tetsuo might have. She also told them that they were still working on their English. Scarlett decided not to explain the Ninja training, if indeed she must tell them at all, until later.

Once back home, Tetsuo and Aoi immediately remarked on how big her house was, trying to communicate big (_ookii_) through gestures. After exchanging the words for that, and informing them that it would not be necessary to remove their shoes before entering her home, she began to show them around the inside of the house, followed closely by the children. Tetsuo was shocked by the fact that her parlor was bigger than his entire dojo. This was the first time it really occurred to him that Scarlett must be a very wealthy woman.   
After showing them around the house she introduced them to Prissy, Molly and August-currently her only servants. Scarlett searched her brain for a Japanese word for "need" or "want" but could think of nothing, and finally just said in English "Tell them if there's anything you need," hoping they'd figure it out. With that, Prissy and Molly went to prepare dinner.   
  
Dinner was quite an interesting affair. Tetsuo and Aoi were unfamiliar with most of the table settings. The first thing they did was wipe their hands with their napkins and place them back on the table, saying something about no water (_nai mizu_.) They were served veal in a wine sauce with carrots, mashed potatoes and bread, which after receiving they each said "_Ita da ki masu_." They were not used to being served food they had to cut up themselves at the table, but they weren't so stupid that they couldn't guess what the knife was for. After cutting the meat by holding it down with one hand and slicing with the other, they spent a moment trying to figure out how to eat it. Trying to watch what the others were doing was of no use, as the display when cutting the meat was just causing everyone to stare at them, ignoring their food. Not wanting to insult the host, Aoi picked up the fork and spoon like chopsticks, and used them accordingly. Tetsuo awkwardly lifted the plate to his mouth and used the fork to push the food in. The children stared. Scarlett wondered whether or not to correct them.   
"Mother," said Ella, "What's wrong with them?"  
Scarlett sighed. "They're just different, Ella." She decided correcting them might be best. "Tetsuosan? Aoisan?"  
They looked up.   
Scarlett thought for a second. "Ah _Anata wa shihoyo_ fork _yo na kore hoho_" she said, slowly, and then proceeded to demonstrate the correct usage of a fork.  
"Foku" repeated Aoi before starting to use it as Scarlett showed.  
Scarlett then turned to the kids. "Stop staring and eat your food!"

Scarlett had not realized the slight problem of having privacy for her lessons with Tetsuo. She didn't especially care that a woman was not supposed to be behind a closed door with a man she wasn't married to, but the fact was that at this time the only place large and empty enough to practice was the front parlor. After directing August to clear out one of the guestrooms, she and Tetsuo began their lesson, at the bottom of the staircase. They began working on kicking. Scarlett could kick very high and felt very unladylike with her skirts riding up well past her garter at times. Fortunately she was a lady, and wore enough undergarments to avoid being obscene. An hour or so was spent, and then Tetsuo began to show, through demonstration, ways one could block those kicks. At one point he actually caught her leg and said something about breaking it. They continued for a while until, from the top of the stairs, they heard Wade call down to them. "Mother? Why are you fighting?"  
Scarlett stopped. "Oh, um, he's teaching me how to fight."  
"Why?"  
"Well" she thought for a moment "Since Rhett's away, I need to know how to protect us in case we're attacked by robbers."  
My God, thought Scarlett, that's the first time I've even thought about Rhett in weeks! Maybe that's why I like this Ninjutsu stuff so much, keeps my mind off him  
"Mother? Mother? Did you hear me?"  
"Yes, I heard you," said Scarlett.  
"Well, then, can I?"  
Scarlett was lying; she hadn't actually heard what he'd said at all. "Alright, just don't mess up your clothes."  
Wade happily made his way down the steps and stood next to his mother, "I want to learn to fight robbers too!"  
Scarlett suddenly realized what she'd just allowed him to do. "Oh okayum, Wade, take off your shoes." She looked at Tetsuo, "I guess Wade is going to be joining us," she said, trying to gesture it out. Tetsuo nodded, understanding. He began, what was for Scarlett, a review of punches. Not long after that, Beau and Ella came out, looking for Wade, and of course found him and Scarlett practicing blocking techniques. When Wade saw them at the top of the stairs he called to them, "Ella! Beau! Quick come down here!"  
Scarlett sighed. "If you're going to participate, take off your shoes."

A little more than a week had passed since the three children and joined in on Tetsuo's lessons, and they were all doing very well. The room August had cleared out for them was just barely large enough to fit them all, but they managed.   
It was in the early afternoon Scarlett was called from her lesson by Molly, being told that Mrs. Elsing had come to visit her.  
"What on earth could Mrs. Elsing want with me?" she thought as she quickly put her shoes back on. She swiftly fixed her hair and went down to meet her.  
"Mrs. Elsing, what a pleasant surprise! I haven't seen you since Melly's funeral. What brings you here?"  
Mrs. Elsing politely nodded to Scarlett. She still felt uncomfortable around the woman, but found here more pleasant recently than she had in the past. "Well," said Mrs. Elsing, "Forgive me for going straight to the point, but there's been quite a tragedy recently. Do you remember Carol and Arab Winters?"  
Scarlett thought. The names didn't ring any bells. "I met them a few times," she lied, "Why?"  
"I'm sad to say they met with an unfortunate accident, and have passed on."  
"Oh, that's horrible. Thank you for letting me know."  
"There's more," said Mrs. Elsing, "Their two sons, Ahasuerus and Noah, were also killed."  
"That's so awful," said Scarlett, trying her best not to look completely bored.  
"Their four daughters, however, were out of the house when it happened, and are now left without a home or parents. The ladies and I were wondering, since you were so nice about taking in little Beau on such short notice after Melanie and Ashley died, would you be willing to put up the Winters' girls?"  
Scarlett's eyes widened, "Oh, I don't know four of them all at once, you know"  
"They're all in their teens, the older ones will probably be getting married soon."  
"Well how old are they?"  
"The oldest is 18, the youngest is 13. I doubt they'll need nearly as much care as Beau must require."  
Scarlett sighed. "I'll think about it."  



	6. Kunoichi

CHAPTER SIX: "Kunoichi" 

Two days later, the four Winters girls moved in. Camilla was the oldest at 18, Lettice was a year younger, Cecilia was 15 and Thessaly was 13. They were still upset from having lost their entire family in one day, and then to top it off they were going to live with the Butlers. Camilla and Lettice especially could recall the gossip that used to go around about those people. But the talk had died down, and Scarlett was obviously willing to care for orphaned children, so perhaps it was all just talk, they decided. How weird can they be?  
Once the servants took their bags off to their rooms, Scarlett approached them, smiling. "Ever wanted to know how to dislocate your own arms?"  
She figured she might as well get them used to the goings on in her house as fast as possible.

Scarlett was constantly annoyed with having to re-learn old techniques due to the rapidly expanding class size. She was a fast learner and while far from being an expert, was well more advanced than her own children or her wards. She decided on Wednesday morning to leave Tetsuo to try and catch them up as far as he could in one day, while she went to check on her store and her lumbermill, as well as get some shopping done. Plus, she needed to look into knocking out a wall between two of the guestrooms to give the nine of them more room to work on their martial arts training.  
Business first. She went to The Damask Emporium, as her store was now called, to check on things. Crispin Belvedere was behind the counter. She had hired him to run the store just before she left for Asia. He smiled at her. "Mrs. Butler! I was beginning to think you'd crawled into a hole somewhere and died. I haven't heard from you in months!"  
"Hello, Crispin. How has business been?"  
"It's been great! Why, the only thing that I can think of that hasn't been selling well are the fabrics. Those pretty velvets especially. I can't think why no one would want them."  
"Hmm perhaps I ought to mark the price down a bit, to get rid of them."  
"Really? Well, in that case I may just have to buy it up myself! Thomas and I could use some new drapes, our current ones are just horribly faded...."  
Crispin and Thomas, what a pair. They lived together in a large, well-maintained house, apparently waiting for the right women to come along. They'd make such wonderful husbands, too, thought Scarlett. They never seem to go on and on about things like war and politics like most men do, and they're always so neat and tidy. It almost seems they like shopping more than I do  
"Have you got a copy of the books for me? I'm going to look over them tonight. You wouldn't believe what happened to me on that trip."  
"Won't I?" he said, laughing, "Try me."  
"Our ship caught fire in the middle of the ocean, everyone escaped on the lifeboats, but all the clothes I brought with me were destroyed!"  
"No! Oh, that's awful. I don't know what I'd do if I got stuck somewhere with only one outfit!"  
"Luckily I managed to find someone who spoke some English, he directed me to dress maker-his name was Thomas, in fact."  
He laughed "Well what a coincidence!"  
"Yes. But you know how it is when you're travelling. Most of those dresses got ruined by the time I came back. I have to go to Mrs. Eddowes's later today to get some new ones made."  
"That sounds like so much fun! I wish I could go get a new wardrobe. I am so jealous."  
"I'd invite you to come, but someone's got to watch the store. By the way-the books, please?"  
Crispin reached under the counter and handed her a large book. "Here you are. Now be sure to have it back tomorrow morning," he joked.  
"Don't worry. Thank you Crispin."

The lumbermill was currently being supervised by a large, intimidating man named Josephus. He was pretty nice, and hardworking, so Scarlett liked him.   
He wasn't nearly as chatty as Crispin, so she just asked for the books, took them, and quickly went on her way to Mrs. Eddowes'.

Scarlett adored the new fashions. The current look was to have the skirt fabric bunched up in the back over a bustle, with a long train hanging from it. Even for everyday street wear! She told Mrs. Eddowes that she didn't want any boning in the bodices, though-"My corset already has plenty." Bright colors were very in, and lots of trimmings were acceptable. Scarlett's favorite design was for a red evening dress, covered in so much lace, beadwork, fringe and tassels you almost couldn't see the fabric at all. Mrs. Eddowes thought it was the gaudiest thing she'd ever seen, but she would make good money from it, and so didn't want to discourage her from buying it. Scarlett also bought plenty of everyday wear, both for summer and fall, and also requested a garment called a kimono, which she intended to use for her boudoir collection. Mrs. Eddowes warned her it might cost as much as $12, to which Scarlett carelessly replied "That's fine."  
Mrs. Eddowes was glad that people like Scarlett survived the war. By the end of the session, she had spent almost $100-quite a lot of money at that time. Scarlett requested the dresses be delivered to her house the moment they were finished, and then went on her way.

Her last errand of the day was to find someone to do the necessary remodeling to her house. She went to the same man who had built her house to her specifications in the first place, a man named Matthew Bould. He seemed almost hurt that she wanted the house altered, but agreed to do it. He promised to stop by tomorrow to take a look at the place.

Three days had passed. Scarlett (Sukareto), Wade (Ueido), Ella (Era), Beau (Bo), Camilla (Kamira), Lettice (Retisu), Cecilia (Sesirya) and Thessaly (Desari) sat on the floor in front of Tetsuo, trying to comprehend his talking. Since the back room was being worked on and there were people wandering all over the house, they decided it was best not to do any physical training until the workers were finished. Problem was, even with Tetsuo's improving English, and everyone else's improving Japanese, he still couldn't hold a real conversation with anyone. He came up with an idea. "We to _ike_?"  
"_Ike_?" asked Scarlett.  
He started to gesture. "_Ookii mizu_"  
Scarlett thought for a second, translating. "water?"  
"Bigu wata," he nodded.  
"We to big water" Scarlett repeated, wondering what on earth he could mean.  
Lettice suggested "Maybe he wants to go to the ocean?"  
"No well, maybe. Tetsuo? _Anata wa_ " Scarlett was having trouble with this one herself "to go to the ocean?" They had exchanged the words for ocean (_umi_) on the boat to Shanghai. Tetsuo shook his head. Getting and idea, he went over to the desk across the room, picked up some paper and the pen, and drew a simple picture of a circle with fish-like shapes in it. Then he added wave-like designs over the fish. "_Ike_," he said, handing the drawing to Scarlett.   
She looked it over for a minute. "Looks like a lake, or a pond maybe?" She didn't know a word for 'why' but she knew one for 'what' and hoped that would be good enough. "_Nani_? What for?"  
Tetsuo sighed, trying to think of a word that might help him. He came up with something. "To biro wata."  
"Biro?" asked Scarlett. What was a 'biro'?  
Wade spoke up; "I think he means 'below.'"  
Tetsuo nodded. "Biro."  
"Good job, Wade," said Scarlett. Wade sprouted a very big smile-this was the only time he could recall his mom praising him in any manner. Scarlett didn't notice, instead going back to figure out what Tetsuo meant. "Go to below lake-water what on earth is he talking about"  
"How about," quod Lettice, "We take him to a lake or pond and find out?" 

So they did.

After the girls had come to live with her, Scarlett had purchased a second carriage and another horse. It took the two carriages about an hour and a half to arrive at Lake Allatoona. Scarlett was glad she had an almost inexhaustible amount of money, as taking care of so many people wasn't cheap. An average yearly wage was only about $360, and each of her horses cost around that much.   
Tetsuo lead them away from the carriages until he found a nice, quiet, empty spot on the bank. Then, to everyone's surprise, he started walking into the water. When he was in just past his knees, he gestured for them to follow him.   
"We can't go in there," said Camilla, "We'll get all wet!"  
"We didn't bring swimming clothes," said Cecilia.  
By this time, Ella and Beau had already run into the water. Tetsuo again gestured for everyone to follow him. Cecilia took off her shoes before slowly stepping into the water, followed a moment later by Thessaly. "It's not that bad," called Thessaly to the others.   
Scarlett sighed, and instructed Wade to take off his shoes and socks and then go in, as she did the same. She ended up being the last one into the lake.   
It took him some time, but Tetsuo managed to explain that he wanted them to go under water and hold their breath (_katazuwonomu_) for as long as possible. They all hesitated, but then at Scarlett's encouragement her own kids ducked into the water, and held their breaths for all of 16 seconds before coming back up.   
"_Watashitachi yoko suru ni shimaso_," he said.

They stayed at the lake till past dark. It seemed that Tetsuo was trying to teach them to stay hidden in the water for as long as possible.   
Tetsuo was starting to consider himself a complete failure at teaching the Butler/Hamilton/Kennedy/Winters family. He had to completely skip on philosophy and all the other important non-physical training involved in ninjutsu, and what he was teaching them was all out or order. He had never been a first-rate teacher, though, and that was one of the main reasons he ended up taking the job-most of the better instructors wouldn't even bother trying to teach a foreigner. He kept trying his best, though, partly because he had already agreed to the contract with Scarlett, and partly because by working for her, he made more money than he could have ever hoped for in Nagasaki. Not to mention that he was now receiving free room and board for himself and his wife.   
The eight of them exited the lake, did their best to squeeze and wring the water from their hair and clothes, and despite being quite damp got back into their carriages to go home for dinner.

Another month passed, the new training space was completed and the family continued to improve. The months of intensive training had paid off for Scarlett, and she knew just as much as Tetsuo did about unarmed combat. She was more frequently taking days off of training to leave him to try and catch the children up to her level. Wade and Cecilia seemed to progress especially well.   
On one such day, Scarlett decided to take Aoi out shopping. She felt a bit sorry for poor Aoi, since she never left the house and didn't seem to have anything to do all day. Plus Aoi's only pair of shoes seemed to be red sandals, and Scarlett figured she might prefer a pair of real boots for gong around Atlanta. The two of them turned several heads as the walked down the street together, carrying their parasols. They stopped at Robert Gadling's shoeing shop, to have a pair of boots made.  
Robert was downright shocked at Aoi's feet-they had been bound for years, as was the tradition in Japan at that time, and were both in a rather unusual shape, but finally he figured out a manner of boot she could wear. They paid him $2.85, and were told that he'd have them ready by tomorrow afternoon.   
After the shoe shop, the two women had lunch at the Atlanta Hotel, dining on mutton, ramekins, quail in cherry catsup, scrapple and tea rusks, with meringue and whipped cream for dessert. After their rather large lunch, they decided to go for a walk, trying to hold a conversation the whole way. They eventually lost track of where they were going, and didn't notice when they walked into a bad part of town.   
At least, they didn't notice until a group of four ragged looking men appeared. They surrounded the two women, one of the men stepping a bit closer than the others. "Good day, ladies," he said as he pulled out a pistol. "Out all alone are you?" He started to say something else, but Scarlett was already trying to remember what to do in a situation like this.  
Aoi, while she couldn't understand a lot of what he said, knew they were in trouble. Not needing another moment to think, she unsheathed her katana, cleverly hidden inside the handle of her parasol. Fourteen years of marriage to Tetsuo Sasukeyasu had certainly taught her a few things.   
By the time Scarlett remembered what to do, Aoi had already taken off one man's fingers. Scarlett, on the other hand, hooked her parasol behind her attacker's arm as she quickly pushed away his gun, which she then pulled from his hand as she used the parasol to turn him so she could easily kick him in the stomach. Then, using both her leg and the parasol, she pushed him to the ground. Finally, she used his own gun to finish him off.   
It's not like I haven't done that before, she thought to herself. Then she turned to Aoi, who by now had either killed or seriously injured each of the other three guys with her sword. The two women looked at each other. Scarlett caught her breath. "Run. _Hashiru_! Hurry! _Iku, iku_!"  
And the two women bolted from the scene, only stopping when they got back into the main part of town. 

Scarlett and Aoi arrived back home, and immediately planted themselves in the large overstuffed chairs in the parlor. Scarlett grew more and more worried. Had they killed all the men? If they didn't, would the survivors report them to the police? They wouldn't be difficult to point out, Scarlett probably being the most overdressed woman in town and Aoi being the only Japanese woman in all of Georgia. She remembered after killing the Yankee years ago how she had buried him, and as far as she could tell to this day no one but Melanie knew or even suspected a thing. But this was different. This didn't happen out in the country to a man who probably had no relatives for at least 100 miles in any direction, but to local men, who regardless of how wicked they were might have family or even spouses in the area who'd wonder about them. She kept worrying about it far into the evening. At dinner she could barely eat anything (Though probably at least in part to the large lunch she'd had.) At least Aoi seemed to be keeping quiet about it (She was, in fact, planning to tell Tetsuo about it when they were alone-she knew the other members of the household were starting to speak Japanese and didn't want anyone to pick up on the conversation.)   
By the time Scarlett got into bed she had calmed down some. She decided, finally, to think about it tomorrow, and soon she drifted off to sleep.  
That night Scarlett had a dream that Aoi, dressed in a bright red kimono, was leading Wade, Beau, Ella, and the Winters' girls across the roof of Tara, telling them all in perfect English about how to disable an opponent with nerve strikes. Then they all grabbed Bos out of nowhere, and flew to Twelve Oaks. They landed in the hallway and were suddenly attacked by carpetbaggers and Yankees, which they fought and killed. The dead bodies would explode every once in a while. At about the sixth or seventh explosion, Scarlett woke up. What a strange dream, she thought as she glanced out the window and saw that while it was still early, it was starting to become light outside. She didn't think she'd be able to go to sleep again, so she slipped into her lavender kimono-robe, made by Mrs. Eddowes, and went to wake Prissy and Molly.   
While Prissy dressed her, Molly cooked up a breakfast of poached eggs on ham with toast and quince jelly. Scarlett came down wearing a midori satin dress, with black lace trim on the sleeves and collar, and with buttons made of gold and carved onyx that cost $1 each. After finishing her breakfast, Prissy helped her on with her hat and veil, making sure it was all tucked into her collar. Scarlett then took her matching green parasol, and went for a walk. 

The veil was more to disguise her face than to keep the sun off, which was its usual purpose. She went out to buy a newspaper. As she walked, she vaguely considered asking Tetsuo to teach her more about sword fighting, so that she could start hiding katanas in her own parasol.  
She finally found a young newsie, and handed him a nickel in exchange for a paper. She then continued walking to her lumbermill, to check on things there.   
Things were fine, she found. Cheaper lumber was still more in demand than the expensive kind, which was of no real surprise to her. She gave Josephus the day off, saying she'd prefer to watch things herself.   
Once safely inside the office, she opened up her paper. She was looking for any mention of the men she and Aoi had killed.  
When she found it, she began to laugh.   
The paper stated that "Three viscous criminals, Alexander Wight, George Mormakirck and Peter Abelayde, were found murdered at approximately 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The three were wanted in connection with three separate incidents of assault, two murders, and also for several robberies. Their killer is not known, but is entitled to the reward money, totaling $700, for having stopped their horrible crimes."

Scarlett almost felt silly now about her plan to hide out at the lumbermill all day. But it was too late to change her mind. She wondered whether or not she should collect the reward money-she didn't have any real need for it, and she wasn't sure if she wanted the world knowing what she'd done anyway. Her mind was pulled off the subject by Berthold Fastolf's arrival. "Hello, Mrs. Butler. How are you doing today?"  
"Very well, thank you. And yourself?"  
"Good, good. I'm rebuilding the back wall of my house, and I need to buy some wood. I need something good but not too expensive"  
Scarlett rose from her chair and led him outside to help. 

After deciding on some wood that he liked and could afford, Berthold and a couple other employees at the mill began to load the lumber into his cart. While doing this, Berthold though to mention something:   
"Oh, by the by, I saw your husband this morning, Mrs. Butler."  



	7. Gyokko Ryu

CHAPTER SEVEN: "Gyokko Ryu" 

Scarlett raced home as soon as the mill closed for the evening, cursing herself for having walked instead of riding her carriage out. 

She hadn't been sure what Berthold had meant at first.   
"You saw my husband?"  
"Yes. I was starting to wonder if something had happened, I hadn't seen him around town in so long. Has he been away on business?"  
"Are you sure it was him?"  
"Hm? Oh, yes. He was just getting into his carriage at the train station. I remember looking at him and thinking 'Is that Rhett Butler? I was starting to think he was dead.'"  
Scarlett did her best to stay calm and act normal. "That's wonderful! He hadn't even told me he was coming back, or I'd have probably been at the train station waiting for him!"  
"Hope I didn't spoil a surprise he was planning," said Berthold. By now his cart was full and he needed to leave. "Maybe you should try to act surprised," he joked. "Either way, thank you. Pleasure doing business with you."  
"Thank you, Mr. Fastolf."

Scarlett spent the rest of the day anxiously pacing and squirming, waiting for the mill to close so she could go home. Why was Rhett back in town? Had he changed his mind and come back for her? Did he really still love her? As she continued to think about it, she recalled him saying something about coming back "just enough to keep talk down." It had been about six months, so he was probably due for a visit.

Should she try to win him back? Did she even need to?

As soon as the clock struck 5:30, Scarlett announced that they were closed and began racing home. She arrived to find Rhett's carriage outside the house, implying that he was indeed there. She burst into the house, half expecting him to be standing right there. He wasn't of course. She called for the servants. August was the first one to answer.  
"What is it, Miss Scarlett?"  
"Rhett's here. Where is he?"  
"I believe he's up in your room, that's where he had me put his bags."  
August had barely finished the sentence when Scarlett began leaping up the stairs to her bedroom.   
She flung the door open so hard that if she hadn't been running so fast the door would have bounced off the wall and closed in her face. But she had just managed to get into the room when it slammed shut. The noise woke Rhett, who had been napping on the bed. He started to sit up, still slightly groggy. "Is dinner ready?" he asked, not really looking at who had come in.  
"Rhett"  
He looked up and found Scarlett standing before him, pulling off her veil. "Oh, it's you," he said.  
Scarlett stared at him. There was a long silence. "That's it?" she finally asked.  
"What?"  
"You don't have anything else to say to me?"  
"Now that you mention it, who the hell are all these people living with us? I come back, ask to be put in a spare room, and find that they're all either inhabited or being used for some kind of dancing class."  
Scarlett frowned; this wasn't what she'd hoped he would say. But she stayed calm. "Yes. I don't know if you heard, but after you left, Ashley Wilkes killed himself. I agreed to take in Beau."  
"Well, my sympathies to you, Scarlett. It must be terribly difficult having the love of your life die and then having to raise his child."  
"Rhett, you know I didn't really love him! I even told you the night youyou disappeared off the face of the earth."  
"On the contrary, my dear, I spent most of the last six months in Europe."  
"Anyway. After that, I took a trip of reasonable length abroad, where I met Aoi and Tetsuo Sasukeyasu."  
"Away and Tetso?" he asked, working from her pronunciation of the names. "Are those the chinamen?"  
"They're Japanese. Mr. Sasukeyasu is my dance teacher."  
"You say that as if it's not true. What is he really? Your replacement for the late Mr. Wilkes?"  
"God's nightgown, Rhett! Didn't I just tell you, I never really cared for Ashley! I just thought I did for a while. As for what Tetsuo is teaching me, I don't think there's an equivalent word in English."  
"Already on a first name basis with him? Really Scarlett, your story isn't holding up too well."  
"My relationship with Tetsuo is no more improper than was your relationship with Melanie," said Scarlett. "By the way, neither he nor Aoi speak much English."  
"Figures," he replied. "What about the passel of teenage girls running around?"  
"Camilla, Lettice, Cecilia and Thessaly Winters. Their parents died, and since it was apparently well known that I'd taken in Beau, I was asked to care for them as well."  
"How touching. And being the great lady you are I assume you graciously accepted the offer."  
Scarlett frowned. "We can talk about this more later on." With that she turned and opened the door, causing it to hit Thessaly, who had been leaning on the other side, listening, in the face. Scarlett's frown deepened at this, but not feeling like arguing any more at this time, she went downstairs to check on dinner.

Aoi was sitting in the parlor, sewing up one of her kimonos. Scarlett had wanted to talk to her for a while now, and thoughts of Rhett briefly left her mind when she saw her. "Aoi?"  
She turned. "_Hai_?"  
"I was wondering about your parasolwait, uh_tsuite anata no_uh, _kasa_."  
"'_Watashi shiritai anata no kasatsuite_,'" corrected Aoi. "_Nani tsuite ka_?"  
"Uhthe katana. How _Ikaga anata wa kasa__shite moraru__katana de_..._ka_?" Scarlett added the final word only as an afterthought.  
Aoi tried her best to explain how her parasol/katana had been made but she just didn't have the vocabulary. "Go ask Tetsuo," she finally said, in English.  
Asking Tetsuo would have to wait till the next day, if that soon. Soon after the exchange, all eleven people residing in the home sat around the table, eating their dinner, curiously watching Scarlett and Rhett. No one really knew that the two of them were practically divorced, but there was very obviously some kind of tension between them. The couple tried their best to remain civil to each other at the table.  
"So," said Scarlett, "Where have you been for the last few months?"  
"As I mentioned before," said Rhett, "I was mostly in Europe. England and France especially."

_(And so the story as I had written it ends. I recall Rhett and Scarlett were going to see a performance of Don Giovanni, and she was eventually forced by her husbands insults to beat him up and banish him from their bedroom-impressing him greatly. Tetsuo, Aoi, Wade, Ella, Beau, Camilla, Lettice, Cecilia, Thessaly and Scarlett were going to start a secret rent-a-ninja service. Rhett and Scarlett would, after many arguments and about five years, resolve their differences. Rhett was eventually going to join their Ninja troupe, and be killed in battle. Wade and Cecilia were going to get married. Scarlett's relationships with her children would be repaired, and she would once again have earned the respect of the town. It probably would have ended up being 100 pages long with all the stuff happening in it. Perhaps, one day, when I have the time to re-learn Rhett and Scarlett's personalities, I'll finish the story.)  
_


End file.
